Hardware options?

gameovr

so far just the slip on cover on VRCover https://vrcover.com/product/valve-index-vr-cover/ I would wait for the leather ones myself.

DimensionalDrop

thevrclub

The largest person we had in it was only just over 6' and he was quite comfortable. But didn't put any kids in it, the person who brought it to us did it as a favor so that we could see what it was like. I can only lightly speak to its versatility in sizing on our one day of use, I expect it could have issues with the very large or very small.

gameovr

Has anyone tried a cosmos since they released? Was really hoping this would be a good solution but I hear bad things about tracking and battery life of controllers. Vive is being phased out with Cosmos release and is already out of stock pretty much everywhere in Canada, and there just doesnt seem to be a clear frontrunner to replace it.

geralexandr

gameovr

we did and returned it the same day:

tracking is really bad. I see clients complaining about the tracking for Elven, Arizona, etc. controllers are bulky, heavy and I see a need to strap them on people or they will fly everywhere we use Rift S in the same room and no issues with light conditions, Cosmos said that light is not enough

gameovr

geralexandr

Thats what I was afraid of. Heard some complaints on the Rift S as well, but its almost half the price of the Cosmos so Im willing to be a bit more forgiving. The Index still doesnt ship to Canada, Pimax is still using beta software and last I checked their support for RMA issues was pretty iffy, WMR headsets are missing support for a lot of games and most are poor build quality and would not last in a commercial setting, so what does that leave us with? I'm not even going to dignify the Vive Pro as an option at this point as it is nearly 2 years old and still more expensive that other headsets with better specs in every category. Not to mention HTC seems to think that making it for commercial use mean everything should magically cost more money. Original Vive wands are $180. Vive pro wands are $270... SAME EXACT CONTROLLER except the Pro controllers are blue. OG wands still work on 2.0 trackers so there is literally no reason for them to be $100 more. not to mention a proprietary $80 cable to plug it in where literally every other headset uses standard cables whether HDMI or displayport. Seems like everything has Pros and Cons right now, it would be nice to have a clear standard that everyone could go with as fragmenting the headsets/controllers is going to make it more challenging for Devs focusing on LBE. If everyone used the index with knucles devs could make some insanely cool games, but with their market share so small, theres no incentive for devs to go all in on a game thats dependant on a controller that most of the world can't get.

thevrclub

gameovr

@gameovr If you by "OG wands still work on 2.0 trackers" you meant 2.0 lighthouses that's not the case, it's the 2.0 trackers (wands and headsets) which work on 1.0 lighthouses which are forward compatible. However I agree with you in general, HTC's pricing on the Vive Pro is a joke.

It's bizarre how there's now more choice than ever with headsets, yet nothing seems to have replaced the OG Vive as the best choice and it's about to be made intentionally obsolete.

I'm planning a move to a new location early next year and will want to get more headsets. I'm actually considering getting 2nd-hand Vives since once the 1.0 lighthouses are set up then the forward compatibility will work on any future lighthouse based headset and controller and buy them separately (got my eye on the Index one day when Valve starts selling them in AUS/NZ and Canada, hopefully)

gameovr

thevrclub

@thevrclub sorry yes thats what I meant, both work on the 1.0 lighthouses, and by the number of people posting tracking issues with the 2.0 base stations I wouldn't be rushing to upgrade them anytime soon. Problem with OG Vives going obsolete is not being able to get replacement controllers, base stations, cords etc. Eventually, everything is going to break and we will be forced to upgrade to something else. I'm thinking that HTC expects that to be the pro which is why it hasn't had a price drop in 2 years since launching.

There was rumours of a "Prosumer" headset from Xtal but havent heard anything on that in ages and while their current headset is about the coolest thing Ive ever seen its also $5000 Euros, so I don't think I could ever bring myself to stick a customer in it. I get cold sweats just thinking about it.

DimensionalDrop

gameovr

We have the Vive Pro running through our facility, and rarely have issues with tracking. You just have to be very deliberate with how you set up your base stations as they have a very wide viewing angle and can interfere if you have multiple set up on the same channel. Which since we have 20 of them, we have 4 that overlap.

We have a customer with the Rift S that brought it in for us to look at, it seems great. I agree the refresh doesn't seem great, gives the impression of a very minor stutter in the rendering at times. But given the price... Still super tempting for a mobile station, especially since you can just use it as inside out tracking for quick setup.

Does anyone know if the Index is even allowed to be used for commercial purposes yet? I thought it was not yet technically allowed for arcade use.

thevrclub

I have to admit though the Rift S is still tempting. The main downsides I can tell is the 80Hz refresh, no decent headphones, and that there's no leather cover option (yet, hopefully). Edit: and I heard Springboard isn't 100% compatible with it...?

thevrclub

DimensionalDrop

Using Index for commercial use just voids the warranty, there's a specific exclusion for it here in section 3.0: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4577-TUJV-6223

Important to note the whole document doesn't apply to people in the EU, Canada, or AUS/NZ, to quote: "instead you are entitled to the statutory warrenties provided by your home jurisdiction."

gameovr

DimensionalDrop

@DimensionalDrop by "allowed to be used for commercial purposes" do you mean a commercial warranty? A lot of resellers will offer an extended warranty on their products that will cover it for commercial use (I realise the index is an exception since there are no resellers). The initial Vives we bought from staples all had a full accidental damage warranty on them and it was a million times easier dealing with them than with HTC. Sweat damage, no problem, smashed controllers, base stations stops working, on the spot replacement no questions asked. Saved us thousands of dollars. Using pretty much anything for commercial purposes will void the manufacturer's warranty. Look at everything you have in your arcade. I bet your monitors, keyboards, speakers, tablets, tvs all have fine print in their warranty that voids it if used commercially.

DimensionalDrop

gameovr

Yes, I did mean that there was no commercial warranty coverage for the product yet. Our warranty has, like so many other arcades, saved us thousands in the last year and I can hardly imagine trying to operate without one. How long are your extended warranties on the vive through staples?

I must be in the minority, we've never had an issue with returning equipment to HTC for repair or replace.

gameovr

Anyone Using the Index in their Arcade? How’s the durability of the headset and controllers? Any major compatibility issues?

OVPowerPlay

We ended up getting the vive pro kits. Yes they were more expensive up front but we are lucky enough not to be paying 100-200 dollars per square foot as they are in some of the larger cities. People who have played with the Vive and come into our place really can tell the difference and really appreciate the all in one head set without the extra headphones and better resolution lenses. I have doubt that many arcades do just fine with the original vive.

As for warranty, I can’t express how important this is. I believe the Advanced + is only a year at a time for $399 CAD or 299 USD. But with that, I had a microphone go bad, wrote to Vive and I had a new headset within 3 days, then i sent the defective one back. Pretty good customer service there.

gameovr

Index now ships to Canada so that’s likely what we will be moving to- especially with the launch of HL Alex!

KatePlayItVR

We use OG Vives and have run out of 3-in-1 cables… Here in the UK there is no one selling any cables, they are out of stock everywhere. We have tried HDMI and just replacing this and clipping it to the original 3-in-1 as it’s usually the HDMI that goes, unfortunately, we are struggling to find a long enough, high-quality cable with a small enough head to fit in the HMD…
So we bought an Index this week, it’s shipping next week… Although we have since discovered that Valve are not selling parts at the moment, therefore if the cable goes in that, we’re screwed.
We cannot afford to replace all our stations with Pros and are not really inclined to do so.

Is there any update on Springboard and Occulus integration so they would be a possibility to try as well?

OVPowerPlay

So we had a microphone go bad. HTC came back quickly with a replacement within 3 days it was at our door. That was the good news. The bad news was that this replacement headset was obviously are refurb. It didn’t come with a cable, which I suppose is understandable, but it also didn’t come with the plate that hides the cable on the mask. I had to swap it out with the one from my mask. It didn’t come with a face cushion, which I also had to replace with my old one and when I did, three of the velcro pads were missing, so the face cushion would not stay on.

In short I have had to send the replacement back as well and the second replacement of the replacement is coming tomorrow. So I have to give them kudos for replacing a headset quickly, but understand when you do, you aren’t getting a new one in return, you are going to get a refurb one with only the components you need to make it work. You have to remove everything it doesn’t come with from the one you are returning and use them on the replacement.